Improved mode of securing box metal in carriage-hubs



A. H. AHLBORNW Securing Box-Meta! in- Carriage Hubs.

Patented Feb. 4, 1868.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS H. AHLBORN, OF LAVVRENGEVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVED MODE 0F SECURING BOX METAL lN CARRlAGE-HUBS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 74,029, dated February 4, 1868.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS H. AHLBORN, of Lawrenceville, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Boxes for the Hubs of Wagon or Carriage WVheels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consistsin lining the iron boxes of the hubs of wagons, carriages, and other vehicles with a metallic alloy or compound, being made to adhere permanently to the iron box by the means hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a side elevation of an ordinary wagon-box. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same, cut through at the line b, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a transverse'section of the same, cut through at line 0, Figs. 1 and 2.

The boxes for the hubs of wagons and carriages are usually made of cast-iron and bored out to the required size to suit the axle, which is case hardened in order to make it wear smooth and last as long as possible; but long experience has demonstrated the fact that unless the utmost care is bestowed upon them in regard to keeping them well cleaned and lubricated they are very liable to become dry and out, thereby not only making the vehicle run heavy, but also destroying both box and axle, for the case-hardening extends only to a very limited depth in the axle, and when the axle becomes cut or worn it is then required to be turned ofl. smooth and rehardened and new boxes obtained, all of which involves a large expense to the owner.

By the use of my improved box the abovementioned diftlcultiesand expenses are obviated, for it is a well-known fact that axles and the bearing of shafts, &c., which run in or on Babbitt metal, or an alloy or compound of a similar nature, will run easier and longer without lubricating, and will never out and destroy the axles or bearings, and these are some of the advantages of my improved box, which is made as follows:

In Fig. 1, A is the body of the box, I), the ribs or lugs to prevent it from turning in the hub, and 0, Figs. 2 and 3, is the lining.

In making my improved box I take the ordinary cast-iron box used for the hubs of vehicles, but make the hole through the same as much larger in diameter as twice the thickness oflining which I intend to put in it. I now place the box, or rather a number of them, in a bath composed of sulphuric acid diluted with about three times its bulk of water, or any other suitable bath, and remove all the sand and foreign matter from the surface of the casting. I now tin the inside surface of the box by the usual process employed for tinning cast-iron, which process is well known to all skillful workmen in this branch of mechanics. The box is now ready to receive the lining, which is put in as follows: I make of wood or metal a mandrel which is an exact fac-simile ofthat part of the axle which is intended to run in the box, and I place it in the box in the position which would be occupied by the axle when in the box. This leaves around the mandrel a space in thickness equal to the required thickness of lining, and having my compound in a molten state, I now fill the space between the box and mandrel with the compound, which immediately adheres to the tinned surface of the box and makes a per feet union of the compound and iron, as shown at the points marked (1. The mandrel is now re moved, and, ifdesired, the inside surface of the lining may be dressed out in the lathe, which then completes the operation.

The advantages of attaching the compound or alloy in this manner are threefold: First, it makes a bearing for the axle entirely composed of the alloy, which cannot be obtained in the old manner, where ribs of the hard metal are allowed to extend through the alloy to the body of the axle for the purpose of preventing the alloy from twisting around in the box by the revolving of the wheels, and to prevent it from coming out at the ends of the box; second, it prevents the lining from twisting around in the box by the revolution of the wheels, and from working out at the ends of the box, by reason of being permanently united to the box; third, to lining them with a metallic alloy, so that the box can be used until every particle of the said metallic alloy will adhere to the box and lining is worn through on the bottom of the becomepartofthesame,substantiailyasherein box without the lining ever becoming loose. described, and for the purpose set forth.

Having thus described the nature, construc- A. H. AHLBORN. tion, and operation of my improvement, what \Vitnesses: I claim as of my invention is JAMES J. JOHNSTON,

Tinning the interior of carriage-boxes prior ALEXANDER HAYS. 

